<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<title>This Is One of Those Moments, Isn’t It? by Patriceavril</title>
<style type="text/css">

body { background-color: #ffffff; }
.CI {
text-align:center;
margin-top:0px;
margin-bottom:0px;
padding:0px;
}
.center   {text-align: center;}
.cover    {text-align: center;}
.full     {width: 100%; }
.quarter  {width: 25%; }
.smcap    {font-variant: small-caps;}
.u        {text-decoration: underline;}
.bold     {font-weight: bold;}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27631205">This Is One of Those Moments, Isn’t It?</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Patriceavril/pseuds/Patriceavril'>Patriceavril</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Developing Friendships, Drinking, Eventual Romance, F/M, Fluff, Friendship, Gen, One Shot, Party</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-11-19</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-11-19</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 17:42:05</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>6,979</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27631205</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Patriceavril/pseuds/Patriceavril</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>The Marauders throw a 17th birthday party for James and Remus. James and Lily end up dancing on a table then hiding in a broom cupboard together - but not for the usual reason</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>This Is One of Those Moments, Isn’t It?</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Tuesday, March 22, 1977</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’m bored.” Sirius slumped down in his chair and scowled at each of his friends in turn.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Why don’t you do your Transfiguration essay?” Remus suggested patiently, without looking up from his own homework.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’ve already done that,” Sirius protested. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, you can do mine if you like,” Peter put in hopefully.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ugh, I’m not that bored.” Sirius rolled his eyes, then turned to James. “Prongs, I’m bored. Entertain me.” He grabbed a crumpled piece of parchment that Remus had thrown on the ground and tossed it at James.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>James grabbed it out of the air deftly and tossed it into the fire without looking up. “Hold on, don’t talk to me for a minute so I can finish this essay for McGonagall.” He scribbled a few more sentences on his parchment, then set down his quill. “Finished. Sorry, what were you saying?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Remus looked from Sirius to James, wearing an expression of mingled disbelief and irritation. “You’re both finished with that essay already, when I’ve been working on it for two and a half hours and I’m not even close to done?” He shook his head, then bent his head over his parchment and continued writing.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You can take a look at my essay if you like, Moony, but I know you won’t because then ‘how will you learn?’, right?” James raised his eyebrows at Remus, who made no reply except to toss another crumpled piece of parchment at him. “Anyway, I think I have a solution for your boredom, Padfoot.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“If it’s running Quidditch plays with you for three hours, I’m not that bored, either,” Sirius said, pointing his wand at the remaining pieces of crumpled parchment and making them stack into a tower on top of Remus’s head.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s nothing to do with Quidditch, although I would think you might be a bit more grateful to your Gryffindor Quidditch Captain who just made us favorites to win the Cup. No, I think we should throw a party, and I want you in charge, Padfoot.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We just had a party,” Sirius retorted, now making the crumpled pieces of parchment bounce off of Remus’s forehead. “When your Quidditch team made us favorites to win the Cup, remember?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes, of course I remember, but I was in the Hospital Wing for most of the party, and once I got back, McGonagall shut it down after about half an hour.” James pointed his wand at the crumpled bits of parchment and made them orbit around Remus’s head.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, that was your fault for leaving the Hospital Wing early, wasn’t it?” Sirius said. “Of course Pomfrey was going to send McGonagall after you.” He crumpled several more pieces of parchment and added them to the collection already circling a now frowning Remus.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It was only a broken arm,” James protested. “Clean break, no bone poking through or anything. She fixed it in about a minute - I was fine.” He frowned thoughtfully, then pointed his wand and made every third bit of paper bounce off of Remus’s essay. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, be that as it may, it was still your fault we had to end the party early,” Sirius replied, grinning as a wad of parchment bounced off Remus’s essay and hit him smack in the forehead. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Anyway, there aren’t any holidays coming up. Why would we have a</span>
</p><p>
  <span>party?” He raised his eyebrows innocently.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“If you don’t cut it out, I’m going to fucking murder you both,” Remus snapped, hastily crossing out a sentence on his parchment.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“All right, Mr. Negative Nancy,” James said, holding his hands up in a gesture of surrender. “And Padfoot, I’m going to give you the benefit of the doubt and assume you’re joking and didn’t forget that your best friend slash unofficial adopted brother has an important birthday coming up.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So you’re asking me to throw you a birthday party?” Sirius pointed his wand at the crumpled parchment and made them speed up so they were just a blur between Remus’s head and his essay.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No, I’m asking you to throw a party for me and Moony. His birthday was only two weeks ago, and we didn’t get to celebrate it properly.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don’t want a party,” Remus said, pointing his wand at the bits of parchment and sending them towards the fire, where they immediately burst into flame. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sure you do,” James insisted. “We could all use a party. And Padfoot needs something to do, so he can organize it.” What he really meant was that Sirius has been in a funk since his uncle died and could use some cheering up, but he didn’t dare voice those thoughts aloud, so he simply shot a pointed look at Remus and Peter and hoped they caught his meaning. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Fine,” Sirius conceded, sighing. “I’ll need to restock our firewhisky. And what do you want for decorations?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Up to you, but I was envisioning balloons with me and Moony’s faces on them, probably some type of banner that lights up, you know, the usual.” He shrugged. “Come on, let’s go to the kitchens and get a snack for Mr. Grumpypants here. And Wormtail, we’ll give you first pick of the snacks, since you haven’t given us any attitude tonight.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You haven’t been bewitching bits of parchment to hit him in the head!” Remus said irritably. “I don’t need a snack, just shut up so I can finish this essay.” He rubbed his forehead in frustration and bent over his Transfiguration textbook, frowning. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“He 100% needs a snack,” Sirius said, standing and heading for the portrait hole, closely followed by James. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Saturday, March 26, 1977</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Excellent work, Padfoot! You’ve really outdone yourself.” James surveyed the common room, nodding in admiration. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Why did you tell him to put our faces on the balloons, though?” Remus said, examining  one and shuddering. “It’s creepy.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You haven’t seen the hats yet, then?” Sirius gestured at the party hats perched atop the heads of most of the Gryffindors at the party. Each hat was decorated with a picture of James and Remus and proclaimed “WE 🖤 THE BIRTHDAY BOYS” in glittery letters.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Those were my idea,” Peter said, handing hats to James and Remus. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Love it,” James said, placing his hat on his head and grinning. “How do I look?”</span>
</p><p><span>“Ridiculous,” Remus said, donning his own hat resignedly. “Even more ridiculous than you normally look, I mean.”</span><span><br/></span> <span>“But wait, there’s more!” Sirius said, pressing James’s hat with a finger and causing the hat to emit a slightly off-key rendition of “Happy Birthday.”</span></p><p>
  <span>“Brilliant! And who did the Snitches?” James asked. “They really take it to the next level, know what I mean?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, Evans and I worked on those together,” Sirius said, watching the numerous Snitches fluttering around the room above the students’ heads. “They’re not real Snitches, we couldn’t steal that many, but they look pretty realistic if you don’t look too closely. Evans came up with the idea.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>‘Course she did,” James said, glancing around for Lily and catching sight of her across the room by the drinks table. He wended his way through the crowd of Gryffindors, scolding one second year boy for not wearing a party hat, and made his way over to Lily.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hullo, Evans,” he said, helping himself to a drink. “Thanks for helping with this. I’m impressed with how it all turned out.” He gestured at the elaborate decorations.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I knew you’d like the Snitches,” she said, feeling rather pleased with herself. “At first I was worried the banner might be a bit obnoxious and in-your-face, but then I remembered who the party is for and I realized it’s perfect.” She pointed up at the huge banner that proclaimed “HAPPY 17th BIRTHDAY JAMES &amp; REMUS” in flashing red and gold block letters and grinned at him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey! Moony isn’t obnoxious and in-your-face,” James protested, noticing that the party hat somehow made Lily look adorable rather than ridiculous.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No, he’s not,” she said fairly. “I did the chocolate table for him.” She led him over to a table spread with every type of chocolate Honeydukes had to offer. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Nice touch,” James said. “Who came up with the game stations?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That was Mary, actually. There’s drinking Exploding Snap,” she said, pointing to one table occupied by several Gryffindors in the midst of what appeared to be a rousing game. “Sirius said it should be strip Exploding Snap, but I thought that might be dangerous.” She laughed, then pointed at the next table. “Then we have Quarters, that one was my idea, since you were so good at it last time. And then over by the stairs we have ‘Pin the Snitch on James’ and ‘Pin the Old Man Cardigan on Remus.’” She rolled her eyes. “Sirius refused to be talked out of it.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Together they crossed the room to examine Sirius’s masterpiece. Two large posters showed both James and Remus shirtless, and tacked up next to them were a paper Snitch and a perfect replica of Remus’s favorite well-worn cardigan.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Bloody hell, Padfoot,” James choked out between snorts of laughter. “He does realize there’s no need for me to be shirtless if they’re just pinning on a Snitch, right?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I think it adds a bit of pizazz,” Sirius replied, joining them to admire his handiwork.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I suppose it does,” James conceded. “That’s an actual photo of me shirtless, isn’t it?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It sure is,” Sirius said, and Lily quickly looked away from the poster, blushing. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Is that a photo of your own shirtless torso that you’ve pasted Moony’s face on?” James asked. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, well, I didn’t have any photographs of Moony shirtless, so I made do with what I had,” Sirius said, shrugging. “And I saw you ogling, Evans, don’t try to pretend otherwise.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I wasn’t-” she began, blushing furiously, but Sirius cut her off. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What do you say, up for some strip Exploding Snap? You could ogle the real thing.” He winked at her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“For the last time, we are not doing strip Exploding Snap, it’s a safety hazard! But James and I will kick your arse at Quarters.” She gestured at the Quarters table, hoping the color would fade quickly from her flushed cheeks.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Fine, but if I win, you guys have to play strip Exploding Snap, no excuses” Sirius said, striding across the room and rounding up Remus and Peter before taking a seat at the empty table.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>James took a sip of his drink, enjoying the warmth of the firewhisky mingled with the buzz of excitement he always felt when Lily stood this close and the promise of an excellent evening ahead of them. “Come on, Evans, let’s go remind Padfoot how bad he is at this game,” he said, grabbing her hand and leading her to the table.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Time passed quickly in a blur of alcohol, raucous laughter, and the clink of a coin landing in a glass, followed by shouts of “Drink!” Sirius did in fact lose spectacularly at Quarters, although he didn’t seem to mind much. James insisted on making Remus a special mystery birthday drink, which he accepted with trepidation, but discovered after taking a tentative sip that it actually tasted delicious. After consuming three of these mysterious beverages, Remus attempted to pin the cardigan on the poster of himself, while protesting loudly, “I just want to make sure everyone knows that isn’t an actual photo of me shirtless, and also I do not wear old man cardigans!” Lily climbed on Mary’s shoulders and tried to grab the decorative Snitches out of the air, and, not to be outdone, James hoisted Peter atop his shoulders and joined in the game. After this inevitably resulted in the four of them on the floor in a heap, laughing hysterically, James extricated himself from the tangle of limbs and went to make them all new drinks. When he returned, levitating four drinks shakily, Mary had been drawn into a game with Sirius and several other girls, and Peter had drifted away to watch, so James delivered their drinks and rejoined Lily. Someone had turned up the music, and her face broke into a huge grin as she heard the opening bars of the song.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“This is one of my favorites!” she shouted, accepting the drink from him and taking a large sip, then climbing onto a nearby table and starting to dance. “Come on, Potter, don’t make me dance alone,” she called, extending a hand and pulling him up next to her. James took a large gulp from his drink, then, as directed, began to dance with her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Evans, you are extremely talented in many other areas, and I say this in the nicest way possible, but you really can’t dance, can you?” James said, watching her raise her arms in the air and swivel her hips around.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh shut up, you’re not so great yourself,” she retorted. “Besides, everyone can dance when they’re drunk.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Fair point.” He grabbed her hand and twirled her around, sure he was grinning like an idiot and not managing to care one bit. He tried to focus on the exact feeling of this moment: the sound of the music, the taste of firewhisky that lingered on his lips, the feel of Lily’s hand in his, the way the flashing lights from the birthday banner reflected in her eyes. He wanted to remember this moment forever.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“This is one of those moments, isn’t it?” Lily asked, leaning in close so he could hear her. “You know, one of those perfect moments you want to store away and remember when times get tough? It’s what you said that night we went to Hogsmeade for my birthday, and we all fell down and ended up looking up at the stars and laughing our heads off, you must remember.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Amazed that she had actually remembered something he’d said drunkenly two months ago, and disconcerted that she’d been thinking the exact same thing he had, James didn’t trust himself to respond for a minute. Finally, he said, “Of course I remember, Evans, and you’re right. It’s definitely one of those moments.” He smiled at her, then twirled her around and dipped her, hoping she couldn’t sense how fast his heart was beating. </span>
  <em>
    <span>What a night, </span>
  </em>
  <span>he thought. </span>
  <em>
    <span>What a fucking night.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>They danced through three more songs, belting out the words and adding air guitar to the final song, then hopped down and slumped to the floor beside the table, bright eyed, out of breath, and laughing. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No offense, Evans, but your air guitar is even worse than your dancing,” James said between peals of laughter.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Shut up, at least I didn’t sing half the words wrong,” she retorted.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Fair point.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m surprised the table didn’t collapse!” Lily gasped, wiping tears of laughter from her eyes.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, it wouldn’t. We reinforced it last year after the four of us were dancing on it and it gave way and Moony knocked over this little second year. It was actually really funny but he did feel pretty bad about it.” James grinned at the memory. “Where is he, anyway? He probably needs another drink.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He stood up on the table again and scanned the common room, but he couldn’t spot Remus anywhere. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hold on, I’ll be right back,” he said to Lily, hopping down from the table and crossing the room to join Sirius at the Exploding Snap table. “Have you seen Moony lately?” James asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No, I haven’t,” Sirius said, only half listening and laying down his cards with relish. “How do you like that, Macdonald!” He turned back to James. “It’s actually happening, Prongs - strip Exploding Snap!” He gestured at Mary and the other girls seated at the table, but other than a couple of shoes, some jewelry, and their birthday hats, they were fully clothed. Sirius, on the other hand, had already removed his jacket, shirt, and belt.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Good luck with that, Padfoot,” James said, chuckling and moving through the crowd of Gryffindors towards Peter, who was slumped in a chair by the fire, fast asleep.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Wake up, Wormtail!” James said loudly, shaking his friend’s shoulder.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Huh?” Peter mumbled, opening his eyes and looking around blearily. “I wasn’t asleep!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No, of course you weren’t. Have you seen Moony around anywhere?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Peter rubbed his eyes, then sat up and glanced around the room. “No, but I’m sure he’s around.” He cast around for his drink and, locating it on the ground next to his chair, took a large sip in an effort to wake himself up.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m going to go check the dormitory. Look alive, Wormtail! If you stand up and walk around a bit it should help. Don’t sit down again if you can help it.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>James left the common room and bounded up the stairs to the dormitory, but it was completely empty. The sound of muffled music and laughter drifted up as he pulled out the Marauder’s Map and checked it for his friend’s location. After a minute of searching, he spotted Remus’s name by the Astronomy Tower, accompanied by the fifth year girl who played Seeker for Gryffindor and who James refused to call anything but Seven, which was her Quidditch number. </span>
  <em>
    <span>That’s odd,</span>
  </em>
  <span> James thought. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Wonder what he’s doing up there with Seven.</span>
  </em>
  <span> He cleared the map and stowed it in his pocket, then headed down the stairs and out the portrait hole in the direction of the Astronomy Tower. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Lily made herself another drink and drifted over to see what Mary and Sirius were up to. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Want to join us, Evans?” Sirius offered, gesturing at an empty seat. “You should probably at least take your shoes off, though, maybe your sweater, just to make it fair.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sod off, Black, I’m not playing strip games with you, thanks very much.” She eyed him meaningfully. “Doesn’t look like you’re doing very well, anyway.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He shrugged, unconcerned. “I think the tables are about to turn.” He slapped a card onto the table triumphantly. “See?” He glanced at her and smirked. “You’re ogling again, Evans.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I am not!” she protested, then, because she had consumed several drinks and had left most of her usual restraint behind when she had danced on top of a table with James, she blurted, “I was just wondering where you got that scar, that’s all.” She gestured to the long, raised line that crossed his left shoulder and extended halfway across his chest.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, that? Hippogriff attack,” Sirius answered.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You told me you got into a knife fight with a goblin!” Mary said, laughing.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And you gave me some ridiculous story about a run-in with a dragon,” insisted the blonde seventh year girl seated across from Sirius; Lily knew little about her except that she played Chaser and James inexplicably refused to call her anything but Unicorn. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ah, well, you can choose which of those three you want to believe, Evans. And don’t think I didn’t catch you looking either, Unicorn,” he said, winking.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Don’t get any ideas, Black, doesn’t Potter have a rule against you snogging any of his teammates?” Mary asked pointedly.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes, he does, because Sirius snogged one of our Beaters last year, and she was so upset when he said he wanted to keep it casual that she played like absolute rubbish and lost us a match,” the girl called Unicorn confirmed. “Although I don’t see Potter anywhere, do you?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s not the only reason you lost that match,” Sirius began, then stopped, looking around. “Where is he? Evans, I thought he was with you… Shit, I bet he’s gone looking for Moony.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Damn. I guess I’ll have to go after him and make sure he doesn’t interrupt.” She lowered her voice. “But what if he’s using the Cloak?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sirius thought for a minute. “Nah, I don’t think he will. Sometimes he likes to go without it, just to prove he can. He likes the risk. And he had that reckless drunken glint in his eyes tonight. Besides, I hid the Cloak under my pillow, and I don’t think he’d check there. You better hurry, though. Astronomy Tower. He’ll probably take the long way, so you can cut him off if you take the shortcut by that weird tapestry.” He turned back to the card game. “Quit cheating, you two. It’s not fair to gang up on me!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lily hurried across the common room and out the portrait hole, then headed in the direction of the Astronomy Tower, grateful that she’d been hanging around the Marauders enough lately to know what weird tapestry Sirius had meant. She managed to reach the Astronomy Tower just as James rounded a corner, and she jumped in front of him to block his path.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Evans! What are you doing up here?” James asked, clapping his hand over his mouth when he realized how loud his voice sounded.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Shh. I’ve been looking for you,” she whispered, pulling him into an alcove behind a suit of armor. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What for?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Erm, well, I wanted to give you your birthday present,” she said, remembering she had the small wrapped box in her pocket.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You got me a birthday gift?” James asked, surprised. “Evans, you didn’t have to do that! I barely got you anything for your birthday.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh shut it, you know that was a brilliant gift,” Lily said, smiling at the memory of the gift that had contained an assortment of inside jokes specifically chosen to make her laugh along with her favorite candy. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What am I saying,of course it was brilliant,” James said. “Still, you shouldn’t have-”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She cut him off. “It’s nothing, really. Just don’t make a big thing of it, because all I got Remus was chocolate.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Don’t be stupid, that’s all it takes to make him happy,” James said, then frowned, remembering why he had come to the Astronomy Tower in the first place. “Hold on, I came up here to find Remus. I saw- I mean, I heard he’s up here with Seven.” He took a few steps, but Lily grabbed his arm and pulled him back. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Just hold on a minute, all right?” She took a deep breath. “He is up here with Seven - why can’t you ever just call people by normal names, by the way - but you shouldn’t go talk to him just now.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’ve told you before, it’s her Quidditch number, of all the team nicknames hers actually makes the most sense,” he said automatically, before he remembered why they were discussing her in the first place. “Wait, why are they up here together? And how do you know?” He looked at her expectantly, and when she remained silent, he gave a little impatient bounce on the balls of his feet and said, “Spill it, Evans!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, they came up here on the pretense of her talking to him about what NEWT-level Defense Against the Dark Arts is like, because apparently it’s both of their favorite class. Whether it’s progressed any further, well, we can only guess.” She hesitated. “I know because we, that is, Sirius, Mary, and I, sort of set this up. It was Mary’s idea, actually, she has an eye for this sort of thing sometimes, and she thought they might be good together and had a feeling that they might like each other. She did a bit of detective work with Seven’s friends and found out she might be interested. I talked to Remus the last time we did patrols together and found out he likes her, too.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“He admitted that?” James asked, surprised.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, no, not exactly, but I could just tell from the look on his face when I asked about her, and the way he wouldn’t look me in the eye. It was pretty obvious.” She shrugged. “Then we needed Sirius to help orchestrate everything. I found out who has patrols tonight, and apparently Sirius knows one of the Hufflepuff prefects pretty well-”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Pretty sure he knows two out of three of them pretty well, if you catch my drift,” James interrupted.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Shut it, do you want to hear this or not? So anyway, if I cover one of her patrols for her, she’s agreed to steer clear of the Astronomy Tower tonight so they won’t be interrupted. And Sirius convinced Remus to meet her up here to discuss Defense, then Mary sent Seven along, and here we are.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Why wasn’t I in on this?” James said indignantly. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, it’s not personal or anything, we just thought you might not be able to keep your mouth shut about it.” She smiled apologetically.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, I suppose that’s fair,” James conceded. “And I suppose you didn’t tell Wormtail because you were afraid he’d tell me?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s correct. There was also a concern,” she continued apprehensively, “that you might not approve because she’s on the Quidditch team.” She paused and watched him to gauge his reaction.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He paused, considering. “Well, I suppose that’s fair, too. I don’t know if Moony will let it turn into anything serious even if they both really like each other.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“But why?” Lily couldn’t help asking, although she knew she was interrupting James halfway through a thought. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>James ran a hand through his hair, frowning thoughtfully. “He’s kind of closed off. He doesn’t let many people in.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“But he let you lot in,” she insisted.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, well, we didn’t give him much of a choice,” he said, grinning. “Anyway, I can't really explain it, other than to say it’s complicated, which I know is rubbish and isn’t an explanation at all, but it’s just not my place to say.” He looked genuinely apologetic, and Lily felt sure it was his deep loyalty to his friend, rather than his own reluctance to confide in her, that prevented him from explaining further. “So I can see him giving her some type of ‘It’s not you it’s me’ bullshit, but she’s not the type to go to pieces over a bloke, I don’t think. She’s quiet, but she’s tougher than she looks. She got hit pretty hard during a match last year - Ravenclaw Beater twice her size ran straight into her, bloody ridiculous foul, just uncalled for. She had a broken nose gushing blood everywhere and I’m pretty sure she cracked a couple of ribs. So we were all for sending her to the Hospital Wing, but she refused, just demanded I fix her nose so she could get back on her broom and finish the game. Within ten minutes she’d caught the Snitch.” He smiled fondly. “She’s got this sort of unshakeable determination. Don’t tell the rest of the team, but I think she could be Captain material. So I think she’ll be fine, no matter what happens with Moony.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lily shrugged. “Well, that’s good. So you’re not angry, then?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Why would I be? I do hate to be left out of things, but I suppose it was for the best - I can be a bit of a loudmouth when I’m excited about something. Nah, I think it’s brilliant. I also think we need to do a bit of spying to see how they’re getting on.” He raised his eyebrow conspiratorially. “What do you say, Evans?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She laughed. “I’m not spying on them! How old are you?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, this is my 17th birthday party, so if you’re still not sure, maybe you’re not Head Girl material after all.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Technically your actual birthday is tomorrow - wait, who said I was Head Girl material?” she demanded, curious despite herself.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s obvious, Evans! Nobody else even comes close. If I see you on the train in September and you’re not wearing a Head Girl badge, I’ll give you ten Galleons </span>
  <em>
    <span>and </span>
  </em>
  <span>I’ll snog Wormtail. Now come on, let’s just take a quick peek and see what they’re up to.” He put a finger to his lips and padded quietly down the corridor and towards the staircase, and Lily, her inhibitions significantly lowered by alcohol and the fun and frivolity of the evening, followed close behind him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>When they reached the top of the staircase, James pulled the door open just wide enough for the two of them to peer through. Remus and Seven stood a short distance away, so absorbed in their conversation that they were completely unaware that anyone was watching them. James and Lily couldn’t quite catch the entirety of what they were saying, but they heard enough to grasp the gist.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What a couple of nerds!” James whispered. “They really are talking about Defense Against the Dark Arts.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Shhh,” Lily chided him. “Just wait and see what happens.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>They watched as Seven shivered in the chilly evening air and Remus immediately removed his cardigan and draped it over her thin shoulders.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Evans, are you seeing this?” James whispered, eyes wide. “‘Cause this is bloody adorable.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Of course I’m seeing it, and it might be the cutest thing I’ve ever seen, but shut up or we’ll ruin it.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>As Remus and Seven continued talking, they moved closer together in tiny increments, so that after a few minutes they were standing so close that their hands brushed accidentally. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Evans!” James hissed as Remus pulled a chocolate bar from his pocket and offered Seven a piece. “Look at that! Birthday gift for the win.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“James, shut up!” Lily whispered, but she smiled, feeling pleased with how this was turning out.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The watched, transfixed, as Remus reached over and shyly brushed a stray crumb of chocolate from Seven’s lips. She smiled, grabbing his hand and confidently lacing her fingers through his, then leaned in and kissed him. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Evans-” James began, but Lily clamped her hand over his mouth, then grabbed his hand and dragged him down the staircase. Once they were safely out of hearing distance, they turned to each other, eyes wide.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Bloody hell, Evans, you did it! Nice work. Go Moony!” James looked ecstatic, and Lily was touched by his genuine, unabashed excitement for Remus. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I can’t believe that actually worked!” she said. “Come on, let’s go back and tell Sirius and Mary.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>They walked in silence back to Gryffindor Tower, both smiling in the aftermath of what they had just witnessed. As they rounded a corner, Lily stopped, then turned to James and whispered urgently, “I think someone’s coming!” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>James swore under his breath, then grabbed her hand and pulled her back down the corridor and into a broom closet. They waited, hardly daring to breath, as the sound of shuffling footsteps grew closer, then slowly faded out of earshot again.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Filch,” James whispered, very close to Lily’s ear. “We’d better stay in here for a bit, just to be safe.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“James Potter, did you drag me into a broom closet?” She giggled, then quickly covered her mouth to stifle the sound.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, yes, I did, but not for the usual reason. I assure you, this was strictly to prevent you from getting detention.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lily couldn’t see his face in the dark closet, but felt certain he was grinning that infuriatingly charming James Potter grin. “This might a dumb question, but why aren’t there any brooms in here?” She cast around in the dark space around her, but felt only emptiness and the walls of the closet.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, that’s because Sirius kept moving them to the other broom closets, and Filch finally got tired of moving them back, so he gave up and just stopped using this one,” James said. “Hang on, I’ve just remembered, you said you had a birthday gift for me. Let’s have it, then.” He lit his wand and held his hand out expectantly.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Here? Now?” She shrugged. “If you insist,” she said, reaching into her pocket and pulling out a small wrapped box and handing it to him with a slightly embarrassed smile. “Happy birthday.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He took it, then held the box up to his ear and shook it slightly before tearing off the wrapping paper and removing the lid. His expression changed from bemused curiosity to intense happiness as he pulled a small silver whistle from the box and turned it over, examining it. Tiny letters engraved on the whistle bore the inscription “</span>
  <em>
    <span>JAMES POTTER, QUIDDITCH CAPTAIN.” </span>
  </em>
  <span>James turned the whistle over to find a miniature Gryffindor crest engraved on one side, and his Quidditch number on the other side.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lily tapped the inscription gently with her wand, and the letters reshaped to form the message “</span>
  <em>
    <span>Rule #1: Never fucking give up.” </span>
  </em>
  <span>She smiled self-consciously. “I asked your teammates and they said you say this at least ten times every practice.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Evans, this is…” He met her eyes, lost for words for once. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s because I felt bad about your other one being confiscated, and I suppose it was my fault in the first place.” She paused, and they both laughed, remembering the events of the previous week.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Eight Days Ago</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hey, Prongs, isn’t this your Quidditch whistle?” Peter had reached into his bag for a textbook and had found the whistle buried at the bottom under the usual debris of quills, crumpled parchment, and candy wrappers. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’ve been looking for that!” James exclaimed, plucking it out of his friend’s grasp. “Why do you always have my things in your bag?” He rummaged through Peter’s bag and pulled out a Potions book. “Look, this is mine too!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Maybe you should keep better track of your things, and you wouldn’t have that problem,” Remus said loftily.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>James put the whistle to his lips and gave a shrill blast. “Unnecessary rudeness!” he shouted.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Remus attempted to grab the whistle, but James snatched it away and placed it safely around his neck. “Attempted unauthorized whistle usage!” he shouted, blowing the whistle again. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“For fuck’s sake, look what you’ve started, Wormtail,” Sirius muttered.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Unnecessary foul language!” James shouted, blowing the whistle again.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The day proceeded in a similar fashion. A scared-looking Hufflepuff girl received a whistle blast for “excessive hallway blockage” when she dropped her bag and bent to retrieve its contents. Peter was scolded for not laughing loudly enough at James’s joke. Mary got reprimanded for failing to pass the pumpkin juice at lunchtime. Snape received a warning for not following basic hair-washing protocols.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>By the time James greeted Lily outside of Transfiguration with his usual, “All right, Evans?” she had heard him blow the whistle at least 25 times throughout the day and had developed a splitting headache. So when she did not reply, and he responded by blowing the whistle and shouting, “Ignoring a polite greeting!” she lost what little composure she still had.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’ve got to stop! I’ve been listening to that thing all bloody day and I’ve had it!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He blew the whistle again. “Unnecessary shouting!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She glared at him. “James Potter, blow that whistle one more time and see what happens,” she said, her voice low and threatening.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>James glanced at Sirius, Remus, and Peter and smirked, then put the whistle to his lips pointedly and blew.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s it!” Lily exploded, grabbing the whistle and pulling it roughly from James’s neck, then storming into the classroom.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Evans, give that back, that’s my lucky whistle!” James shouted, chasing after her. “If you care at all about Gryffindor winning the Cup, give that bloody whistle back right now! This is not a laughing fucking matter!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Mr. Potter!” Professor McGonagall scolded, sounding scandalized. “What is the reason for the commotion and the atrocious language?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sorry for swearing, Professor, but she’s taken my whistle!” He gestured at the whistle clutched triumphantly in Lily’s hands.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I think you should confiscate this, Professor McGonagall,” Lily said earnestly. “He’s been blowing it all day for the silliest reasons, and it’s completely obnoxious. He nearly brought a little Hufflepuff second year to tears, and it’s giving me a terrible headache!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Is this what I’ve been hearing all day?” McGonagall asked, frowning. “Mr. Snape, is this what you were trying to report to me, before I asked you to kindly wait until I’d entered my classroom instead of shouting at me in the corridor like a hooligan?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Snape, seated in the front row and watching the scene smugly, nodded.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Then I think Ms. Evan is quite right, Mr. Potter. I’ll be taking that whistle until you prove you’re mature enough to have it back,” she said crisply, plucking it out of Lily’s hands and placing it safely into the pocket of her robes.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“But you don’t understand!” James blurted, horrified. “I’ve been using that same whistle every practice since last year after the first match! We haven’t lost since I’ve had that whistle - it’s lucky! Don’t you care about our Quidditch prospects at all, Professor?!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Don’t be ridiculous, Potter,” she snapped. “You mean to tell me that with all your talent, you’re staking your Quidditch success on whether or not you use a particular whistle during practice?” She shook her head. “What a load of rubbish.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“But when can I have it back?” he persisted.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“At this rate, I’ll be returning it to you next year. Now sit down, everyone, we have a lot of work to do today,” she said firmly.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>James had been forced to sit down and copy down the notes, all the while fuming and shooting furious looks at Lily. Lily had later apologized and promised to beg McGonagall to reconsider, but she had been unsuccessful. James had tried apologizing, begging, sending his teammates to plead his case, and Summoning it from McGonagall’s office, but all of his attempts failed. In the end, he simply had to accept glumly that his whistle might be gone for the rest of the season.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Present day</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It was kind of your fault, but I suppose it all started because I was being an obnoxious prat,” James conceded. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Anyway, I know the other one was your lucky whistle, but I thought maybe a new one could be just as lucky?” Lily bit her lip and added quickly, “But if you don’t like it, I obviously won’t be offended or anything.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Are you kidding? It’s brilliant! I love it.” He placed it around his neck. “I feel luckier already,” he said, grinning. “Thanks, Evans. Honestly, it’s one of the best gifts anyone’s ever given me.” He surreptitiously placed his hand into his back pocket, where he had placed his original whistle after McGonagall had given it back that morning. She was also prone to superstitious tendencies where Quidditch was concerned, and her desire to see Gryffindor win the Quidditch Cup had won out over her desire to punish James for his immature behavior. He had been so distracted by preparations for the party that he had completely forgotten to tell anyone that she had given it back. Now he pushed the whistle deeper into his pocket and vowed to hide it at the bottom of his trunk and pretend it had never been returned in the first place. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She met his eye, grinning back. “You’re welcome.” They kept their eyes locked on each other and time seemed to stand still for a moment. Neither of them moved, both aware that the moment felt somehow charged and significant, almost humming with possibilities. Lily noticed for the first time that James had almost girlishly long eyelashes above his hazel eyes, and perhaps it was the addition of the birthday hat, but his messy black hair struck her as endearing rather than irritating tonight. James breathed in the intoxicating floral scent that clung to Lily and which he was certain came from the tap in the prefect’s bathroom with the round purple jewel, although he wasn’t sure why he knew that. Then they both moved at once: Lily leaned in for what she later told herself was a friendly hug, and James’s body acted before his brain had fully decided what to do, inclining enthusiastically towards Lily. Their simultaneous movement resulted in an awkward and painful collision of their heads and the entwining of their party hats, and in the process of trying to disentangle them, one of them activated the singing charm and filled the small space with a loud chorus of “Happy Birthday!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Shit!” James swore, silencing the hat quickly.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ouch!” Lily said, rubbing her head. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sorry, I, er, I was just excited about the gift, that’s all.” He quickly took a step back from her, inwardly cursing himself. “And I promise I will only use it at Quidditch practice and not to annoy innocent students.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Right, well, that’s comforting,” she said, blushing furiously. “Er, shall we go, then? The coast is probably clear by now, don’t you think?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Right. Let’s go.” He pushed open the closet door and led the way out, and Lily followed close behind. </span>
</p><p><span>As they walked, both rather pink in the face but smiling, they chose to neither discuss nor think too much about what had just happened, or almost happened, in the broom closet, but to instead file it away to mull over later. Tonight was a night for drunken mayhem, not for deep,  complicated thoughts.</span><span><br/></span> <span>“After we tell Sirius and Mary what skilled matchmakers they are, fancy trying to catch those Snitches again?” he suggested, giving the password and gesturing for her to go through the portrait hole first. “But this time, no sitting on anyone’s shoulders. Let’s just jump off the furniture and try to grab them.”</span></p><p>
  <span>She laughed. “That sounds like a bloody terrible idea. But give me one more drink and you could probably convince me,” she said, making her way over to Sirius and Mary and joining them at the table.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>James smiled to himself for a minute, thinking that this was definitely the best birthday he’d ever had, before bounding over to join his friends.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Padfoot, Macdonald, you’re bloody geniuses, you know that? Moony and Seven are snogging as we speak! And look what Evans got me for my birthday - don’t worry, I’m not going to use it, I’ve promised, otherwise I would definitely be reprimanding Padfoot for insufficient clothing in the common room.”</span>
</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p>
  </div></div>
</body>
</html>